Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) operators who responded to recent surveys claim to have averaged $2.67M in gross revenues in 2011; outdoor only facilities totaled $467,571. An average of more than half-57%-said that 2011 was more profitable than 2010, but the larger facilities enjoyed greater revenues and profits.

The Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) has announced its new leadership. In a slight variation from the norm, the incoming president will be distributor John Pascaretti of Pascaretti Enterprises of Warren, Michigan.

The slow, but now seemingly certain, progression of the U.S. casino sector toward legalised online gambling took two important steps forward this summer, writes Barnaby Page.

To start with, Bally Technologies and International Game Technology (IGT) became the first companies licensed to supply interactive gaming technology and services to operators in Nevada, a signal that the state’s commitment to allowing online poker is real.

In another possible blow to Illinois operators, the state’s House of Representatives has passed a gambling expansion bill that would create new casinos at the state’s racetracks and in five cities. Slots would be permitted at airports and state fairgrounds.

Governor Pat Quinn rejected the issue this year, preferring to focus on restructuring the state’s Medicaid and pensions programmes.

By a unanimous vote, the Illinois Gaming Board has passed immediate legislation that permits self-service payout kiosk options like PayoutPlus for video gaming. Board members approved the emergency rule change, which allows customers to redeem their tickets from an automated device, to bypass the previous requirement that winning tickets had to be redeemed by an authorised person at a licensed site.

Minnesota has legalised electronic pull-tab and bingo games that run on portable devices. The networked gaming legislation takes effect on 1 July and authorises these handheld games for limited operation in Minnesota’s bars, restaurants and bingo parlours.

Before its start, both the Minneapolis city council and 24 of the 32 National Football League (NFL) teams must approve.

In a case with potential national ramifications, the pizza-and-games chain Chuck E. Cheese’s (CEC) has quietly settled a class action lawsuit brought against it by a California mother in 2011. In Keller vs Chuck E. Cheese’s, San Diego resident Denise Keller sued the firm for $5m, claiming that its games are a form of gambling for children.

New policies from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) will take effect on 1 June. These guidelines aim to protect members’ copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property.

IAAPA aims to establish immediate on-site arbitration options for resolving disputes over displays at the association’s trade shows and in its publications. Upon an arbitration ruling that an infringement has occurred, the offender’s association membership can be terminated.

You once had to patronise the arcade or game room to play your favorite pinball or video game. Now, modern technology and Warner Bros. will allow you create your own “ultimate game room”.  The new Midway Arcade recreates the classic game parlours of the past on an iPhone or iPad.

Its configuration resembles Chuck E. Cheese’s or similar gaming centres. Several games are on free play, including Defender (a space shooter), Root Beer Tapper (offering drinks to customers) and Spy Hunter, which destroys enemy cars.

For the 27th year, the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) and National Dart Association (NDA) held a successful international soft-tip dart tournament. This year’s event took place at Bally’s in Las Vegas on 13-21 April. Representing six countries, more than 12,000 international entrants competed for over $500,000 in prize money.

AMI Entertainment has announced that it will create two distinct company divisions this year. The Music Division will handle music and TV products out of a reopened Grand Rapids, Michigan office, while the Megatouch Division, headquartered in Bristol, Pennsylvania, will deal with games and bill changers.

Average daily revenues for South Dakota video lottery terminals (VLTs) jumped almost 30 percent after slot-style line-up games were added to the traditional poker, blackjack and keno menu. The South Dakota Lottery Commission approved the games in 2011; they went online in December 2011. There are currently more than 1000 new-style VLTs and about 8000 legacy machines.

Operators demonstrated confidence that the overall U.S. economy may be improving slightly at this year’s 2012 Amusement Expo in Las Vegas.

Show statistics indicated a five percent increase in attendance over last year. Among both attendees and exhibitors, there was also a greater optimism about the future of their businesses than in 2011.

AMI Entertainment Network and East Coast Amusements have united to strengthen the service that East Coast has offered to operators of Ecast digital downloading jukeboxes. Ecast terminated operations last month after 11 years in business, laying off 55 employees.

The alliance confirms AMI’s support for Ecast operators. AMI recently arranged to maintain much of the Ecast network and its Ecast Central secure Website.

The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) has amended its bylaws to reduce its board of directors from 30 to 19, excluding officers, starting next year.  The association attempted this reduction 15 years ago under former AMOA president Randy Chilton, but AMOA’s past presidents rejected it. There had also been an attempt to introduce manufacturer membership on the board.

The independent National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which supports artists and arts organisations, will classify video games as an art form in fiscal 2012. Taxpayer funding, typically between $10,000 and $200,000, will be granted to a project next year.

The new NEA criteria have expanded The Arts in Media as a grant category, replacing Arts on Radio and Television.

WMS Industries, the Chicago manufacturing firm that transformed itself from a pinball/video factory to a maker of licensed gaming machines, is turning its sights on gaming’s newest potential market – the Internet.

It recently applied for an interactive gaming licence with the Nevada State Gaming Control Board. Internet gaming remains illegal throughout all 50 American states, but several states with legalised casino gaming are permitting companies to present their paperwork in anticipation of online gaming, in particular poker.

Suffering the lowest video lottery terminal (VLT) revenues last year since 1995, at $95m, South Dakota legislators may vote to raise the number of machines permitted at each location from the current ten to 14.

Many operators blame the South Dakota smoking ban, which took effect in late 2010. VLT revenues have since fallen by between 17 and 35 percent.

Once again, the dollar coin issue has polarised opinion in the federal government.

The Obama administration has recently imposed a policy change to terminate the production of dollar coins, except in small quantities for collectors. But for more than 20 years, the amusement and other coin-related industries have jointly pushed for the complete elimination of the dollar bill, which they would like to see replaced by the permanent use of dollar coins.

Members of the Council of Affiliated States of the Amusement & Music Operators Association have met to discuss several increasingly complex issues impacting both the gaming and amusement industries.

In his 24 January State of the Union speech, President Obama announced a new trade enforcement unit to be developed. Depending on how far-reaching its responsibilities are, this new agency could impact crane machine and bulk vending supply chains.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently decided that the 1961 federal Wire Act only applies to sports-related gambling. This is huge news for the potentially lucrative state-sanctioned online gaming industry. It could pave the path for agreements between legal gaming states or internationally, claims renowned gambling legal expert I. Nelson Rose.

According to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, Illinois state officials recently awarded a six-year contract to Scientific Games (SG) to administer the state’s video gaming central system once the programme is up and running. The paper projected that games will be installed in locations by the end of 2012 at the latest.

The agreement could be worth more than $69m for the New York-based company. At the end of the term, the contract could be renewed for an additional four years.

The preliminary schedule for the 2012 Amusement Expo has been released. The dates for this year’s convention, o-sponsored by the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA), are 14-16 March. It will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and once again run alongside the National Bulk Vendors Association (NBVA) Expo. 


The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Leadership Conference will take place in Los Angeles on 22-24 February. The conference will focus on networking and offer practical learning at several Los Angeles amusement parks and attractions.

Registration is open and a discounted early-bird rate is available until 27 January. For more information and to register, visit www.iaapa.org.

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) recently hit its highest ranking in five months. The monthly RPI is a composite index of the U.S. restaurant industry, analysing its condition and outlook. Its 100.6 level in November – the second above-100 ranking in three months – was up 0.6 percent from October.

The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) is paying close attention to the Dollar Coin Alliance. The National Bulk Vendors Association and other important industries using coin payments have joined forces to stop Congress from discontinuing production of the high-denomination coins, and to promote an increase in their circulation.

One problem that has been facing operators for years is the lack of quality, verifiable information about advertised business opportunities. Long referred to as “biz ops”, unregulated promises have financially ruined millions of aspiring businesspeople.

In Washington, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revised its Business Opportunity Rule, with the new version going into effect on 1 March 2012. The changes aim to ensure that consumers have the necessary information to evaluate work-at-home programmes or other business opportunities.

The Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) recently released the results of its first comprehensive member survey in more than ten years. Conducted in the spring, the poll invited the organisation’s 1400 members to participate via SurveyMonkey, an online tool. More than 70 operators in 26 states responded, and most answered the 61 questions.

The results suggest that the typical operator is independently-minded and in their forties or fifties, with some college education. They typically employ fewer than ten people. Member operators prefer to deal with smaller local banks and make their own travel reservations. It is an ageing business, and more than 93 percent of respondents are over 40. Almost a third are over 60.

Once again,Illinoisoperators are caught in the middle of legislative brinksmanship. Waiting for two years to start operating within the 2009 Video Game Act (VGA), they have been plagued by delays and changes.

Companies have already been approved to operate, distribute and manufacture games withinIllinois. But now, once again, Governor Pat Quinn is pressing for possible regulatory modifications.

Video lottery terminal (VLT) operators in South Dakota, one of the jurisdictions where the games have been legalised longest, are celebrating good news from the state’s supreme court. They may now operate virtually anywhere the state allows, and cannot be excluded by local authorities, although they are restricted to liquor-licensed locations.

Georgia governor Nathan Deal has joined law enforcement and political leaders in announcing a statewide crackdown on sweepstakes video games, which they consider illegal. They estimate that up to 100 Internet cafes in Georgia offer sweepstakes video games, and Deal is concerned about the rapid growth of this market.

Can’t find a pinball machine at your local tavern or arcade? It’s no longer a problem. Stern Pinball, the last of the great pinball manufacturers and the world’s leading producer, announced that Best Buy will now sell flipper games. As one of the leading electronics retailers in the U.S., Best Buy has a huge distribution presence across America.

Following the legal decisions to allow the 2009 Video Gaming Act (VGA) to move forward, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has begun to issue its first state manufacturing and distribution licences. Several venerable amusement Chicago-area manufacturers and distributors have applied for them, with plans to build or sell video lottery terminals as the new VLT market unfolds. Some have already received word that their applications have been accepted.

The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA), the national American trade association representing game makers, suppliers and distributors, celebrated the organisation’s 20th anniversary at its eighth annual distributor gala in August outside Chicago. The association’s membership previewed more than two dozen new products.

Brunswick Bowling in the U.S. is aiming at “younger and edgier” bowlers with its new DV8 ball range, marketed under the slogan “Damn Good Bowling”. The four-ball product line has “more cockiness to the attitude, and more aggressive punch to the actual performance”, said Brunswick president Brent Perrier.

The ever-changing battle for video lottery terminals (VLTs) in Illinois continues. The state’s house of representatives voted for a proposed law known as SB 744, which allows five new casinos within the state, including one in downtown Chicago, and others at racetracks and at O’Hare International Airport. Estimates of $1.5bn in licensing fees for this year, and a minimum of $500m in annual new tax revenues, are expected to help rescue the disastrous Illinois economy.

In several parts of the U.S., sweepstakes video games are confronting law-enforcement challenges. State officials are citing violations of various gambling laws within their jurisdictions. In mid-June, for example, Ohio Investigative Bureau agents and local police in Bowling Green raided an Internet cafe, seizing sweepstakes video games.

Could ATMs and kiosk-type ticket vending machines be partially responsible for the 9.1 percent unemployment rate plaguing the U.S.? President Barack Obama seems to think so. During a television interview on 13 June, the journalist asked Obama why he could not convince corporate America to hire more employees, despite record profits.

Marshfield, Massachusetts is back where it began 28 years ago. The small town was the first to attempt enforcement of an arcade ban in the early 1980s. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the town’s favour then, and local voters have upheld the ordinance ever since.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington DC, an independent federal agency supporting artists and arts organisations, has classified video games as an art form. In seeking grants, the NEA has expanded its guidelines by introducing an Arts in Media category, which replaces the former Arts on Radio and Television classification.

More than 14,000 soft-tip dart competitors from seven countries converged on Las Vegas for nine days in early May for the National Dart Association’s (NDA) annual Team Dart international tournament. This year’s event awarded more than $500,000 in prize money.

Once again, the 2009 Illinois Video Gaming Act (VGA) is facing legal problems. To help reduce budget deficits, the VGA legalised operator-run video lottery terminals (VLTs) as part of a more general bill. The Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association (ICMOA), like most state associations, has supported operator-involved VLT legislation since the 1980s.

On 10 May, the South Dakota Legislature’s rules review committee unanimously authorised the state lottery commission to operate slot-style games on video lottery terminals (VLTs) statewide.

Operators of video lottery terminals in West Virginia are enjoying some good news while also worrying about some bad news. The state and local economies have rebounded a bit, motivating customers to play more often. Even winter numbers improved over 2010 revenues.

The quiet did not last long in Alabama. Only two months after Robert Bentley was sworn in as the new governor in January, trouble resurfaced on the bingo front.

After succeeding former governor Bob Riley, Bentley disbanded Riley’s task force of armed state troopers who had shut down bingo halls statewide. Bentley stated that he wanted a court decision on the matter.

On 25 March, the South Dakota Lottery Commission voted unanimously for a rule change that allows operators to add new, slot-style games to the state’s 9156 video lottery terminals (VLTs).

The list of permissible games has long been murky, and the state’s VLTs have only offered poker, blackjack, keno and bingo. Supporters claimed that “line” and slot-style game play were already technically legal, but acknowledged that no exact regulations to implement their operation had ever been formally adopted.

New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in late March reveals trends that may impact the market positioning of amusement operations.

Between 2000 and 2010, the U.S. Hispanic population grew by 43 percent, to a total of 50.5m people. The non-Hispanic population only grew by five percent, reaching 258m. Further examination reveals that within that number, the white population increased by just one percent to 196.8m.

New York Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law that allows coin-operated amusement games to award extra balls, free games or additional time.

It amends a 1987 law which criminalised pinball machines that awarded free balls, or video games that extended time, based on players’ performances. Its aim was to curtail gambling, but the 1987 language failed to distinguish between coin-op amusements, which do not dispense money or coupons, and wagering devices.

Whether the reason is a better economy or a continued interest in darts, the AMOA-National Dart Association (NDA) has reported a spike in entries for the Team Dart 2011 tournament over the past three competitions.

Entries have increased by more than ten percent from 2010, totalling over 14,000 entrants from seven countries. Registration for Team Dart 2011 has now closed. The contest is scheduled for 29 April to 7 May at Bally’s Las Vegas, its new host hotel in the centre of the Las Vegas Strip.

The new federal healthcare legislation, often called Obamacare and passed in 2010, continues to poll unfavourably with the public and remains divisive across America. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn the entire law, but that hasn’t happened. However, an important corrective action was taken in mid-March when the House passed legislation that repeals a controversial provision in the law.

The second Amusement Expo in Las Vegas enjoyed a surge of buyers over its first show in 2010. The 1522 registered buyers represented a 47 percent increase from the 807 buyers last year. Exhibitor numbers also jumped 26 percent, with 135 companies reserving booth space, compared to 101 in 2010. There were 373 booths; last year the number was 306, an 18 percent rise. The total attendance of 3083 increased from 1894 in 2010.

As if the massive business and personal tax hikes recently signed into law by Democratic Illinois Governor Pat Quinn were not bad enough, the 2009 Video Gaming Act (VGA) may also be in trouble. The Act was passed as a portion of 2009’s Capital Improvement Act public-works legislation.

The VGA legalised Illinois operators as potential partners in a statewide video-gaming programme. It passed with the expectation that small businesses would benefit and tax revenues would be generated for the state treasury.

The AMOA has also formed an alliance with Columbus, Ohio firm Circone & Associates, an award-winning branding agency. Using its long-standing relationship with the coin-op amusement industry, the agency will assist the AMOA with projects that include maximising AMOA’s value as an organisation to its members, as well as developing partnerships within and outside the market.

New government can make all the difference, as Alabama’s operators have discovered. Within a day of being sworn in, Alabama’s new Republican governor Robert Bentley dismantled the widely disliked Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

The Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA) is to promote and co-ordinate a special jukebox fund-raising campaign for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity group committed to funding research to find cures for childhood cancers.

A recent NSM announcement of its plan to provide music and jukes directly to locations has come under fire from the AMOA. This concept is similar to NSM’s earlier Jukes Direct programme from three years ago.

In its weekly newsletter, the AMOA criticised this latest attempt, saying that three years ago the direct-sales programme made little impact. The newsletter also said it is “just not a model that, long-term, holds much promise, at least domestically.”

As Illinois struggles with one of the highest per-capita budget deficits in the U.S., state legislators are frantically seeking opportunities to raise revenues to offset potential economic disaster. One proposed solution, Senate Bill 737, would permit five new casino licences to be added the state’s existing ten riverboat licences (covering nine locations). It would also expand the scope of gaming in those sites, and authorise slot machines at the state’s horse tracks.

For ten years, 35-year industry veteran Jack Guarnieri has resold Stern Pinball equipment on classic games Website PinballSales.com. And on 1 January, Guarnieri announced his decision to produce his own fully-loaded commercial-quality pinball machines as Jersey Jack Pinball.

The Chuck E. Cheese’s chain of pizza-parlours-cum-family-entertainment-centres, owned by CEC Entertainment of Dallas, has launched a programme that awards tickets and prizes to online players of its Blaster game.

North Carolina governor Bev Perdue does not condone video poker parlours, but may agree to legalising them because of her state’s budget crunch. The revenues projected would justify allowing them. Perdue would insist on tight controls and regulation, requiring that all participants have a fair chance to win.

As the last U.S. Congress ended, the Senate passed House Resolution 6162, the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010, on 1 December. The House of Representatives had already voted for the same legislation, and it becomes law when signed by President Obama.

Both the amusement and vending sectors consider this an important victory, although new coin-validation costs may total into the millions.

After multiple delays and complications arising from its early approval of Scientific Games, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) reopened the contractor bidding process for the central computer system that will manage the state’s operator-run video lottery market.

Ohio’s Supreme Court has declared the $10 prize payout limit on skill games constitutional. Legal challenges had argued that the law arbitrarily attempted to limit legal activity, and that the limit did not rationally distinguish between illegal gaming and legal skill games.

The Las Vegas Hilton will play host to a three-day conference and trade show for the operators of family entertainment centres (FECs). The convention will take place from 28 February to 2 March, overlapping the 2011 Amusement Expo.

The Jukebox License Office (JLO) has decided that jukebox licensing fees must increase after a two-year freeze. These fees are charged for the public performance of music on CD and 45rpm coin phonographs. In 2009, the office licensed about 26,100 CD and vinyl boxes.

As we reported briefly in Euroslot’s October issue, in early November the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear oral arguments in the California video-game violence case initiated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The case, Schwarzenegger vs Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and Entertainment Software Association (ESA), focuses on a California law aiming to ban the sale of violent home-played games to minors.

Operators of family entertainment centres (FECs) from across the U.S. convened in Virginia recently to strategise for their future. The event was hosted by a special consortium of four amusement-machine distributors, called FEC NRG – the second acronym standing for “new revenue generation”.